Song · The Adverts
“Gary Gilmore's Eyes” by The Adverts
From the album Crossing the Red Sea with The Adverts (1978)
“Gary Gilmore's Eyes” by The Adverts appears on 3 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 2002 and 2026. It was first released in 1988 on the album Crossing the Red Sea with The Adverts. Its best result is #445 on The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #6,616 alternative song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (Dirk Boet). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
T.V. Smith wrote "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" alone, words and music, and it rests on a gloriously grisly premise: a patient comes round from an eye transplant and discovers the new eyes belonged to Gary Gilmore, the executed double murderer. The idea had a real-world hook, since Gilmore had asked for his eyes to go to science after his execution, and his corneas were in fact used for transplants.
The Adverts put it out on Anchor as a single, and in September 1977 it climbed to No. 18 in the UK and landed them on Top of the Pops. It was meant for their debut album, Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts, but got pulled at the last minute; most later reissues of the album put it back.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1637 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2022 | 445 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2026 | 556 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound | 1055 |
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